District court dismisses Síminn's request to cancel the settlement between the company and the Competition Authority.

District Court of Reykjavík has, by a ruling delivered on 28 October 2024, dismissed the claim of Síminn hf., in which the company sought a declaration that it was not bound by the conditions in the Competition Authority's Decision No. 20/2015. These were conditions under a settlement to which the company had committed to comply following its acquisition of the television station Skjárinn, which later became Sjónvarp Símans. In essence, the requirement was that the company should not have to substantially comply with the terms of the settlement.

The background to the case is that Síminn requested that the Competition Authority review and annul the conditions of the settlement the company had made with the authority, pursuant to decision no. 20/2015. The request from Síminn has been under consideration by the Authority but has been delayed, in part because other urgent matters concerning the telecommunications and television markets have taken priority. These include merger cases and cases where Síminn's conduct towards smaller competitors has been under review.

Telefunken did not accept this and brought a case against the Competition Authority before the Reykjavík District Court with the aim of having the aforementioned settlement annulled. The district court's ruling emphasises that the Competition Authority has wide discretion in prioritising cases and that the Competition Appeals Board has even held that its assessment in this regard will generally not be overturned. Furthermore, the Competition Authority is under no obligation to review the said decision. The matter is already under investigation by the Authority, but it is not yet known whether Síminn's request will be rejected or granted. The Competition Authority has provided a thorough explanation of the reasons why it has not yet been possible to conclude the investigation.

The ruling further states that it follows from the separation of powers that it is generally not for the courts to make decisions on matters entrusted to the authorities by law, or to give the authorities instructions on the substantive content of their decisions. The measure that Síminn had requested the court to decide on does not fall within the remit of the courts. On this basis, the case was dismissed.